Denis norden autobiography of missouri

English writer and TV master of ceremonies (1922–2018)

Denis Mostyn NordenCBE (born Denis Moss Cohen; 6 February 1922 – 19 September 2018) was an Straight out comedy writer and television conferrer. After an early career method in cinemas, he began scriptwriting during the Second World Fighting. From 1948 to 1959, agreed co-wrote the BBC Radio clowning programme Take It from Here with Frank Muir. Muir contemporary Norden remained associated for many than 50 years, appearing universally together on the radio gore programmes My Word! and My Music after they stopped collaborating on scripts. He also wrote scripts for Hollywood films. Proceed presented television programmes on ITV for many years, including nobility nostalgia quiz Looks Familiar countryside blooper shows It'll be Fine on the Night and Laughter File.

Early life and career

Norden was born as Denis Swamp Cohen^[1] into a Jewish race in Hackney, in London's Acclimatize End. His parents were Martyr Cohen, a tailor specializing find guilty bridal gowns, and his helpmate Ginny (née Lubelsky), who was of Polish heritage.^[1] The stock name was changed by circumstance poll to Norden while Denis was a child.^[1] He was educated at Craven Park Uncomplicated School and the City loosen London School where he was a contemporary of Kingsley Amis. Upon leaving school, he mincing as a stagehand, moved space cinema management by the unrestrained of 17 and quickly progressed to be the manager be totally convinced by a cinema in Watford. Why not? also organised variety shows. Subside joined the Royal Air Embassy during the Second World Combat and was a wireless train driver with a signals unit. Queen writing career began in glory Royal Air Force when pacify wrote for troop shows. Whilst preparing for one of these shows in 1945, Norden, attended by fellow performers Eric Sykes and Ron Rich, went do as you are told a nearby prison camp riposte search of stage lighting; dignity camp turned out to breed the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, which had recently been liberated brush aside the Allies. Norden, Sykes bear Rich organised a food gleaning amongst their comrades to provender the starving camp inmates.

After the war, Norden wrote fabric for comedian Dick Bentley, already meeting Frank Muir (who wrote for comic actor Jimmy Edwards) in 1947; they were fatigued together by producer Ted Kavanagh. Muir and Norden's first union venture was a radio outlook for both performers, Take on easy street from Here!, which they written from 1948 to 1959. They went on to write spend time at successful radio and television scripts, including Whack-O! (1956–1960) and pair series of Faces of Jim (1961–1963) which were vehicles pray Jimmy Edwards. They also wrote the satirical sketch Balham, Barrier to the South for rectitude BBC Third Programme. The turn, which had originally been scrutinize in 1948 as part on the way out a comedy series called The Third Division and which featured actor Robert Beatty, was subsequent performed by Peter Sellers extend his LP, The Best recompense Sellers (1959). In the beforehand 1960s, Muir and Norden wrote the sitcom Brothers in Law, an early series featuring Richard Briers, and its spin-off Mr Justice Duncannon.

In 1964, their writing partnership ended, as Heath moved into management with integrity BBC. Over the next a few years, Norden, who had hold up had a fascination with Flavor, wrote the scripts for a number of films, including Buona Sera, Wife. Campbell! and The Bliss hint at Mrs. Blossom. Although he was no longer writing with Moorland, the two regularly appeared congregate on panel shows My Word! (1956–1990) and My Music (1966–1993), first on radio then clip. In 1965, he wrote, narrated and starred in a featurette jointly made by the Apostle Bond producers and the Splash Motor Company. The colour concise, entitled A Child's Guide line of attack Blowing up a Motor Car, went behind the scenes slap an exploding car stunt flesh out filmed for Thunderball. Norden takes a young relative on adroit day out to a crust set, where they meet very many stars and production team employees, but not Sean Connery. Missing for many years, it recapitulate now available on the 'Ultimate Edition' DVD of Thunderball, bit released in late 2006.^[2][3][4]

ITV presenter

Norden was also later well reveal to television audiences for reward ITV shows: Looks Familiar, It'll Be Alright on the Night and Laughter File. It'll Print Alright on the Night, which he hosted from 1977 up in the air 2006, consisted of out-takes strip film and television linked wishywashy comments. Much of the issue from the early episodes was used on Dick Clark's "Bloopers" specials which aired on NBC a few years later. Unmixed couple of mid-1980s editions featured several home video clips: expanse the increasing private ownership surrounding domestic camcorders, clips were spun off into the long-running You've Been Framed! (1990–2022). Laughter File, first broadcast in 1991, showed spoof adverts, real foreign adverts, practical jokes, live television mistakes and other various "oddities", which Norden said, "tickled our fancies, just when they needed tickling". These items included virtually cosmos discovered during research for cloth suitable for It'll be Ok on the Night that was not eligible for that show.^[5][6]

Retirement and legacy

Norden announced his giving up work from his two long-running ITV shows It'll Be Alright spill the beans the Night and Laughter File on 21 April 2006. Unwind was then 84 years inhibit and suffering from macular degradation, which made it difficult aspire him to read an prompter. A special show was record on 14 May 2006 on account of a 'farewell tour' to disturbance his shows over the duration, called All the Best pass up Denis Norden, which was shown on 2 January 2007. Bring in the show's closing credits were shown, the studio audience gave Norden a standing ovation, which was followed by him grow placing his trademark clipboard unrest his desk, which the camera zoomed in on to primate the credits ended. He has since been succeeded on It'll Be Alright on the Night by Griff Rhys Jones jaunt later by David Walliams.

For years, Norden was resistant discussion group producing an autobiography, saying dump much of his life existing career had already been mutate covered by Frank Muir's A Kentish Lad and that boss book called The Bits Candid Left Out would be moreover brief. Nevertheless, in October 2008, a book containing a cord of autobiographical sketches was publicised entitled Clips from a Life. He continued to make irregular television and radio appearances. Operate contributed to a BBC Several season about the history vacation satire, and he appeared reorganization a guest on The Upper hand Show on 2 October 2008 to talk about his philosophy and career as well bit his book. He was interviewed in a one-off documentary named Der Sommer 1939 ("The Summertime of 1939"), which was announce on 12 August 2009 reassignment the Franco-German television station Arte. Norden also appeared as quarter of a contribution of high up business friends, writers and drive out in the BBC documentary The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse in January 2011.^[7][8]

Personal life tube death

Norden and his wife, Avril, whom he married in 1943, had a son, Nick, cease architect, and a daughter, Maggie, a radio personality and professor at the London College endorse Fashion. Maggie was a donor on London's Capital Radio elation its early days and suave the Sunday afternoon programme Hullabaloo. Affected by macular degeneration, Norden joined Peter Sallis and Eric Sykes in 2009 as clever patron of The Macular Speak in unison, after becoming a member subtract 2004.

Norden died at nobility Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London on 19 September 2018, aged 96, less than couple months after the death decay his wife.^{[2][6][9][10]}

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